Meditation Made Simple

This meditation was recorded live on the beautiful Portuguese Atlantic coast bay of Sao Martinho do Porto, which provides a beautiful backdrop and a breathtaking demonstration of the sea clinging to this allegedly spinning earth.

Transcript

Hey there folks,

Meditation made simple.

We're down at the beach today on the,

I was going to say the western coast of Portugal.

Portugal only has a western coast of course.

The Atlantic coast of Portugal which you can hear behind me and it just occurred to me,

Wouldn't it be nice to look at the Atlantic coast in this lovely town of San Martino de Porto and sit and meditate together whilst listening to the waves crashing on the beach rather than looking at me meditating which is an odd thing anyway,

Let's face it.

So I will offer a little bit of guidance and apart from that just soak it up and enjoy it.

It's quite a nice metaphor for how thoughts are constantly rolling in and rolling out of the mind as the waves sometimes crashing,

Sometimes still,

It's the kind of nature of the mind isn't it,

The motion of the sea.

So we can work with that if you want to but the whole purpose of this is to not to be thinking too much and to find ourselves back rooted in our senses and our being rather than too much thinking.

So yeah,

Hiya Joe,

You've probably been here anyway and can connect with all sorts of lovely memories of the Atlantic coast of Portugal so I'm going to get out the picture and let you enjoy this now,

Right?

Unexpected treat hopefully for you.

And maybe the first thing you might want to do is just feel the weight of your body on the chair so that we're getting into our bodies,

Getting into our being,

Excuse me.

We've got this beautiful backdrop of the Atlantic waves crashing on the beach and I don't know if you can see in the far distance,

I don't know,

Like that bit there,

That's.

.

.

We're like in a scalloped bay here and that little inlet is where the water comes in from the Atlantic so it's a very protected little bay and I guess you might see this again as a metaphor,

This little scalloped enclosed bay is a little area you can make for yourself in your own mind of relaxation and stillness or still-er-ness than what's going out.

I don't know if you can see in the distance but sometimes it looks really scary over there where the full force of the Atlantic waves are coming in and you'll see a really big wave crashing in that little opening there.

And if you're lucky,

Well not lucky I suppose,

If you're like a bit of Chardon-Freud,

You might see my kids and wife falling over in the waves in a minute because you know human beings love playing this game don't they,

Of tempting the waves,

See how far you can,

Or see how close you can get to the waves and then run away from them and then maybe fall over.

I had it yesterday.

But this is maybe another metaphor for our busy lives,

Is as you try and steady yourself as a wave has come crashing in,

You look down to the ground and the ground is moving obviously because the water is moving across it and it's hard to get your balance and that I'm sure in some ways a great metaphor for life as well,

Sort of seeking balance from things that are actually moving rather than going to more eternal and truly,

Or the stillest things in our lives are possibly the best reference points rather than those transient things in our lives.

So yeah,

I'll stop the waffle and let's,

In this beautiful background atmosphere that we're able to share by the glory of this technology,

Just feel the weight of our bodies on the chair or the pressure of the clothes on the skin,

It's usually there.

If we just bring our awareness back to it,

It's always there for us.

Being via the senses or registering with our being via the senses,

Feel your body on the chair or the pressure of the clothes against the skin.

And then let's connect with the breath coming in and out of the body for a little while.

So with any luck that's brought us back into a bodily being awareness.

Rather than all the mind stuff,

The mind's crashing waves,

Let go of that for just a couple of minutes here on a meditation made simple.

Let's just keep things simple,

Just as a simplicity of being alive and hopefully the joy of being alive.

It's the real gift,

The real miracle that this is even possible,

Right?

Don't think about that.

And I invite you to just sit with me and hear those waves.

Just come and go like the thoughts,

But let them come,

Let them go and just sit there.

Be aware of the breath coming in and out of the body.

If you need to send it back in yourself,

Use the breath to do that.

And let's just sit,

Be together and enjoy this,

The in and out,

Coming and going without any attachment to it.

Now with any luck I'm hoping you're able to engage with the richness of your being and the stillness that's always there inside you,

Beneath the whole crashing wave,

Or the crashing waves and the turbulence of the tides of the mind and underneath it.

I suppose it's like the sea bed,

The being is down there underneath all the movement,

Peaceful still.

And a touchstone or a landmark,

Mixing of the metaphors here,

But I hope it's not too confusing,

But just to feel your feet on the bottom I suppose.

And feel that stability,

Feel that peace,

Feel the joy in the body.

Made a little bit easier with that lovely view and the sound of the waves,

But it's always there for us.

And I wish you a great day.

And if you have managed to feel a little bit of stillness,

Goodness inside yourself,

It's always there to be connected with and take that with you into your day.

And have a great day and look forward to seeing you again soon on another Meditation Made Simple.

Take care,

Bye for now.

Reviews

I am so saddened by how negative the comments are. If the meditation is not your style of calmness then move on. I appreciated the humor throughout - keep doing you!

Fresh, vibrant and full of levi-tation ... I was on that beach, heard a cat, a baby having fun and my feet were in the sand with the waves cooling them. A fantastic approach to meditation proving that it's not always about retreating to an ashram for two weeks but about engaging with the beautiful world we are blessed with. More simplicity coming soon I hope Carl 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 deep bow

The use of metaphors is helpful for visualisation and I was there!

The ocean metaphors with waves crashing in th background were relaxing. So simple and so charming.

Wonderful. Thank You 🙏🏻